If the Legislature is serious about preserving employer-sponsored health care for workers and their families, it should amend the state's 10-year old MEWA law and permit employers to choose the plans that best meet their needs and bear the risk that they can afford.

A Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement, more commonly referred to by its acronym, a MEWA, is a self-insured group health care trust that allows small firms to reap the same health and cost benefits of a large corporation by pooling and managing risk.

New Jersey's current law was enacted after the failure of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers' MEWA that left members and providers footing the bill for unpaid claims. MEWA finances are now subject to federal and state insurance standards, are regularly audited and reported, and its administration is governed by fiduciary trust law.

In 2011, the Employers Association of New Jersey joined the Affiliated Physicians Health Plan in 2011 - at that time, a MEWA comprised exclusively of hospitals and physician groups and managed by Qualcare Inc.

Through the EANJ, New Jersey employers are eligible to join the plan. Nearly 400 small and mid-sized employers have enrolled since January and more than 25,000 workers and their families are currently covered. Over the last five years, about 97 percent of the plan's participants have re-enrolled. In short, the Affiliated Physicians and Employers Health Plan, which is managed by physician and employer trustees, is a vital health care alternative for New Jersey employers.

However, a bill improvidently passed by the Assembly and now in the Senate would require MEWAs to be regulated as insurance companies. This is a mistake, considering that MEWAs already provide coverage for most state-mandated benefits, including hearing aids, mental health services and autism benefits.

Additionally, MEWAs meet the same standards as an insurance company under the federal Affordable Care Act, consumer protections, actuarial values and limits on out-of-pocket health care costs. The ACA also requires a modified community rating standard of 3:1. This rating is designed specifically to bring more young people into the market, which helps stabilize rates for older consumers.

We are all working toward the same goal. We want to preserve employer-sponsored health coverage in New Jersey without compromising consumer protections. Regulating MEWAs as if they were insurance companies prevents employers from designing coverage that best meets their needs. It prevents choice in the health care market and protects the state's insurance monopoly. Instead, any amendments should give employers a reasonable amount of choice and flexibility to design the coverage that meets their needs.

John Sarno is president of Employers Association of New Jersey and executive trustee to the Affiliated Physicians and Employers Health Plan.